Gibson fully committed’ to WI job

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has distanced himself from the reckoning to become England’s new team director.

Gibson’s ambitions, or otherwise, to succeed Andy Flower apparently provided an extra layer of intrigue to England’s forthcoming series of three one-day internationals and then three Twenty20s against the Windies over the next two weeks.

England limited-overs coach Ashley Giles is considered the front-runner to be named by late April as the replacement for Flower, who resigned following this winter’s Ashes whitewash.

The outcome of the two series might yet have a significant bearing on England’s next high-profile appointment, especially with new managing director Paul Downton in attendance - having flown to Antigua on Tuesday.

But Gibson, who served as England bowling coach alongside Flower until he took up his role with his native West Indies, gave little credence to theories he might apply to return.

“My name is firmly in the hat for this job I’m doing,” he said.

“The West Indies job is tough enough, and I’m fully committed to this one to get it right and improving the fortunes of West Indies cricket.

“When you’re not working then every job appeals to you, but at the moment I’m working and working hard - so that is all I’m looking at right now.”

The 44-year-old, whose much-travelled career as a highly-skilled pace bowler included two Tests and a memorable stint at Durham - he also played for Glamorgan and Leicestershire - guided the Windies to victory in the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in 2012.

They will defend that title in Bangladesh next month, and Gibson made it clear the West Indies expect destructive opener Chris Gayle to return from a hip injury in time not only for that global tournament but also to face England in those three Twenty20s in Barbados.

“From all reports I’ve heard Chris should be back,” he said.

“He had some time out with a hamstring injury and he had a good two months to get himself right. He did some work in Australia with a physio he feels comfortable with over there.

“He was back here and played in the first T20 (against Ireland) and looked good, but then he had a reaction in his back.

“When you work so hard on one thing then something else can give way.

“He had a reaction in his back and his hip, so we’ve given him some more time to get himself comfortable on the cricket field.”

In the meantime, Gibson has also voiced his surprise at how quickly Flower appeared to lose favour with some England supporters.

The 5-0 drubbing in Australia followed three successive Ashes series victories, among many other successes.

Gibson said: “What happened between England winning in the summer and then going to Australia is that the Aussies improved beyond belief.

“When you’ve got one person like Mitchell Johnson bowling as a well as he did and being hostile, plus good back-up with (Ryan) Harris and (Peter) Siddle, then you can see that Australia improved and England didn’t.

“It just shows how quickly things change sometimes in sport...

“When things changed it seemed like people forgot about the three or four great years he had - and after one bad series, he is contemplating his future and people saying he should be sacked and stuff like that.

“I guess that is the nature of coaching, but it is still sad in a way.”